Chances are, if you made a purchase at eBay, WalMart or McDonald’s in 2014, you were asked if you’d consider donating $1, or $5 or the change that would round up your sale amount to the next dollar. And many, many obliged.

Those three topped the list of elite cause marketing programs at retail and restaurants which generated more than $388 million through checkout donation campaigns in 2014, Cause Marketing Forum announced on May 28, 2015 at their annual conference in Chicago, IL

• $27.1 million was rasied for Ronald McDonald House Charities (McDonald’s)
• $40 million raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (WalMart)
• $62.2 million raised for a collective of nearly 35,000 charities (eBay)

Feel Good Giving

If you think money can’t buy happiness, just try giving it away #CMF2015

— Cause Mktg Forum (@TweetCMF) May 27, 2015

“At cash registers and online, companies and consumers are banding together to raise tremendous amounts of money for good causes,” said David Hessekiel, president of Cause Marketing Forum, Inc., the leading authority on business initiatives designed to do well by doing good.  “We’re especially excited to see ten players joining the elite million dollar+ club of Checkout Charity Champions,” said Hessekiel.   “We expect companies will raise significantly more in the next couple of years by better integrating technology, deepening employee engagement and working more closely with nonprofit partners.”

America’s Checkout Charity Champions is a benchmark study conducted by Cause Marketing Forum.  It tracks 77, million-dollar-plus charity checkout campaigns.

The first survey was conducted in 2012, and 38 campaigns from that year’s survey were among the 2014 champions.

The worlds to do list #cmf2015 pic.twitter.com/4ggBx0Zf0u

— Summer Crenshaw (@SummerCrenshaw) May 28, 2015

Room at the Top

While some of the elite campaigns have been at it for years (or decades), there is still room for new campaigns. Case in point, National 4H’s Council partnership with Tractor Supply Company which grew to $1.5 million in 2014, from $625,881 in its first year (2011). For more resources on cause marketing and to download your own copy of the report visit Cause Marketing Forum’s Knowledge Center  And follow them on Twitter @TweetCMF to stay on top of the latest.

What are your feelings about checkout donation campaigns?